


Some Days

by thirdsister



Series: The Closest Thing To Home [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Big celestial road trip to kill thanos, Comfort/Angst, Coping with Grief, Endgame, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fear of loss, Final Battle, Healthy Relationships, Iron dad and Spider son, Minor Character Death, Pregnancy, alternative endgame, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-12 09:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18444131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirdsister/pseuds/thirdsister
Summary: The Avengers face their greatest fears and their deadliest enemy





	1. Stay Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twas the night before Thanos  
> And all through the ship  
> The Avengers weren't sleeping  
> Not one little bit

Steve couldn’t sleep. Though not for lack of trying. He’d tossed and turned so much Natasha has practically begged him to take a walk. As he paced to ease his anxious mind, he tried to step softly, but even the smallest movement echoed through the ships’ metal halls. He is ready to give up and make another attempt at a few hours sleep when he, quite literally, ran into Tony.

“Oh shi- sorry, I didn’t hear you coming.” Steve stammered. Tony barely seemed to register the collision. His gaze was focused on the mural Nebula had painted of her sister. No wonder Steve hadn’t heard anything; his friend had been standing there motionless trying to make out the silvery details of Gamora’s face in the dim light.

“Insomnia?”

“No, Capsicle, I’m staring at a wall in the middle of the night before the biggest rematch in history because it’s my idea of fun.”

“Who did you lose?” Steve cringed internally. The question had come out a great deal more bluntly than he’d intended. After all the reconciliation and the “you trust me” handshakes, it was the one thing he’d never brought himself to ask. It may have been indecorous, but there was a non zero chance the coming sunrise would be their last. He could be forgiven a momentary lapse in manners.

“Excuse me?” Tony finally tore his eyes away from the green woman’s features.

“I know it wasn’t Pepper or Rhodes. So who was it?”

“The kid. Peter.”

Steve’s brow furrowed as he put the pieces together, “The chatty one in the spider outfit from the airport?”

“Yeah.” He smiled a little at what felt like ancient history. “I designed his suit, actually. You know how many safety measures I put in that thing? 512. He was only there on Titan because of me. And I didn’t just watch him die. He died in my-” he swallowed, looking away, “he begged me, like- His last words were: ‘I’m sorry.’ Like he failed me and not the other way around.”

“He was your son.”

“Secret illegitimate teenage kid is very on brand for me, but no, he wasn’t.”

Steve shook his head. “That’s not what I meant, I mean it wouldn’t surprise me, but I meant the way that you’re talking about him, he’s your kid. Family isn’t just blood. Ask Natasha, me, Carol, Thor, hell probably everyone on this damn ship could tell you that.”

Tony let out an exhausted sigh and scrubbed his face with his hand, “Yeah”  
“We’ll get him back. Whatever it takes.” Losing a child. The thought was almost unimaginable. Almost. His own child was barely more than an idea and still his blood ran cold at the prospect of losing them. 

“Whatever it takes” Tony echoed.

Steve slapped Tony lightly on the back, “Try and get some sleep.”

“You too, Capsicle. A man your age needs all the beauty rest he can get.”

Steve only rolled his eyes before setting off for Natasha’s bunk.

\--  
“Tell me the plan again”

“God, you’re like a child with a bedtime story, go to _sleep_ Rogers.” Natasha groaned into the pillow.

“Nat” He reached for her hand. His fingers felt frozen. She sucked in a sharp breath when he touched her. She sat up, leaning her back against the wall to mirror him and gripped his cold hand more firmly.

“Ice?” She asked. It didn’t happen often, only a handful of times in all the years they’d known each other, but occasionally Steve’s heart would race, his ears would pound, his limbs would go cold and for a few moments he’d feel like he was back there. Sinking into the ice.

“It’ll pass” He tried to smile, but winced instead.

She draped his arm around her shoulder and rested her head on his chest allowing her to both maximize contact and monitor his heart rate. Natasha Romanoff did all things efficiently, and comforting her partner was no exception. The tactical way she approached love might seem cold some, but Natasha had made a career of fighting with gods and monsters, she knew her values and her limits. Her economy of effort allowed her to take down Chitauri invaders and console her loved ones. It made her indispensable. 

“Tomorrow, Scott and I head down first. The rest of the team remains in atmosphere to avoid detection. Scott and I will confirm that our intelligence is correct that Thanos is in possession of gauntlet, but not wearing it continuously. Scott and I find and retrieve the gauntlet, Scott shrinks it, we rendezvous with Carol. The remaining team divides into two groups. Group 1 causes a diversion to lure Thanos out, Group 2 joins for an ambush. We slice and dice the purple guy and Carol unsnaps the universe.”

“Definitely no holes in that.”

“Listen, smart-ass, it’s the best we’ve got. Things will change on the ground. They always do. But we’ll be ready.”

“I’m not ready to lose you.”

“You won’t.” She lifted her face to meet his eyes. “You won’t. We made a deal back in Bogota, so you and me are going to make it through this. We just have to. And even if something happened to me, you’d keep going. It’s what you do; same as me.”

“I am so damn tired of doing that, Nat.”

“I know,” she murmured. She felt his pulse return to its normal resting rate and the warmth return to his extremities. She could also feel the aching fatigue radiating from him. “I know,” She said a second time as she shifted her body, reaching up to kiss the sensitive spot behind his ear. He shuddered happily as she worked her way down his neck.

“Are you trying to distract me, Agent Romanoff?”

She paused, looking up at him with wide eyes of mock innocence. “That depends… is it working?”

A wicked grin spread across Steve’s face. “Hmm… I’m not sure. Maybe you should keep trying just in case.”

She rolled her eyes and nipped playfully at his skin before redoubling her efforts.

\--

 

“You told them the walls aren’t soundproof, right?” Carol gestured in the direction of the slightly muffled, but clearly salacious noises.

“I did! He seemed mortified at the time.”

“They don’t sound bashful to me,” she chuckled.

“I can’t say I blame them. We’re jumping headfirst into nearly certain death and all that.”

“Think we can drown them out?” Carol raised her eyebrows.

“I think it’s our duty as superheroes to try.” Valkyrie smirked pulling Carol into a passionate kiss.

The night continued on as each Avenger found solace in their own way. Some found it in each other, some in dreams, one in art. And two in tinkering with the weapons that may well decide their fate. The morning was coming both unbearably slow and far more quickly than they would like. Soon the sun would rise on the planet below them and the final battle would begin. This time they were ready. They had no choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A world of thanks to my beta reader, the incomparable [MarvelousKyles](https://marvelouskyles.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The title comes from "Stay Gold" by [First Aid Kit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aaa8q_xIqQ)
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [ here ](https://thirdsisfics.tumblr.com/) if you're so inclined.


	2. Some Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers finally come face to face with Thanos. It doesn't go as planned.

She had just finished suiting up when Clint came to stand next to her. He didn’t say anything; he rarely did these days. Though, in truth, he didn’t need to. Their camaraderie went beyond words, it always had. He clapped his hand on her shoulder and she covered it with her own. She leaned into the touch and let herself smile a little. Clint had lost everything, but he had taken her hand when she’d offered it in Tokyo. Now here he was, fighting by her side like nothing had changed. 

She detested keeping secrets from Clint, but she hadn’t told him about the pregnancy. She knew he’d be happy for her, but after Laura and the kids it just felt like a slap in the face. And if they failed today, she couldn’t bear the thought of giving him another reason to grieve. She held the secret tight and hoped there would be time enough for happy news when the day was won. “I better go find our fearless leader. I’m sure he’s just itching to give the troupes a rousing speech.”

“We few, we happy few” Clint intoned in a horrifically bad English accent.

 

It didn’t take her long to find him. “Hey, soldier.”

“Does it bother you that I keep this?” Steve asked without taking his eyes off the compass in his hand where Peggy’s warm eyes gazed up at him from a black and white photograph.

Natasha stifled the urge to laugh. The idea that she’d be jealous of a picture of her partner’s deceased first love would be comical if it weren’t so terribly sad. “No.” She said, winding her arms around his waist and leaning her head on his shoulder blade. “How could it? Peggy Carter is part of who you are. How could I possibly do anything but love her?”

They were interrupted by the sound of Tony clearing his throat loudly. “Sorry to disrupt what looks to be a very tender moment, but we’ve got a universe to save.”  


Steve nodded gravely. “Alright, listen up. This is the fight of our lives. You know your teams; you know your missions. No mistakes. No do overs. Look out for each other.”

“He’s pretty good at those.” Rocket interjected. He’d never been on the receiving end of a motivational speech that hadn’t made him want to throw up in his mouth.

“Right?!” Smiled Scott. For one brief moment, it truly seemed possible. They were going to win. They were going to take down this monster and bring back everyone they loved.

\--  
It had all gone so wrong. Natasha and Scott had secured the gauntlet, but that was the first and only thing that had gone to plan. They hadn’t been able to get anywhere near the other teams to hand it off to Carol. Titan 2 had looked like a verdant paradise when they arrived on its surface, now it was reduced to smoldering ash. Where once there had been farmland, now was only desolation as far as the eye could see. There had been traps. They had expected that of course, but not this. They weren’t prepared for the earth to open up and beasts as large as the Hulk with hides that looked like bark but were made of something tougher than steel with gaping maws filled with thousands of teeth and claws dripping molten magma to climb out and descend upon them.

This was far from his first alien horror show, but when Rhodey set eyes on the beasts he couldn’t stop himself from thinking _Hell is empty and all the devils are here_. Later as he and Rocket blasted their way through two at once, he tried idly to remember what play that thought had come from.

Steve Rogers surveyed the damages. He Tony, and Thor had been battling with Thanos, they had pierced his armor on one side, but hadn’t come close to a kill shot. Moments ago Steve had been thrown from the fray. He popped his dislocated shoulder back into place and gritted his teeth as he tightened the strap on his shield. Hulk and Korg were entrenched in a brawl with two of the beasts. Nebula was reattaching a mechanical leg. He couldn’t see Scott which likely meant he was still miniature. He could just make out Carol and Valkyrie in the distance. They were fighting their way towards the main battle field. This was the opportunity, he just needed to clear a path for Nat to make the transfer. Of course, he’d have to find her first.

When his eyes settled on her he immediately wished they hadn’t. One of the Titan’s hands- hands which had torn the mind stone from Vision’s skull as easily as a child might pluck a daisy from a field- was wrapped around Natasha’s neck. Steve knew even as he ran towards them, he would never make it in time. The Titan’s grip tightened and Steve watched in horror as his worst fear manifested before him. He would stand powerless as he watched her die. He would be condemned to watch the light drain from the eyes of the woman he loved most. Their last twinge of hope- their family would perish along with her. He’d been a fool to let himself believe they’d make it. To think they had a life of impossibly tiny shoes, sleepless nights, and lazy Sundays ahead of them. It was only ever going to end one way: another coffin to cary: another body to bury. Steve Rogers’ love was a graveyard. He knew all this and still he ran. He ran full tilt towards the Titan as if his legs alone could rewind the clock. “No do overs.” He had said, but in that moment Steve would have given anything for one last chance. 

“So,” Thanos’ voice sounded almost disappointed. There was a soft under current of something like pity tinting its’ edges, “You couldn’t live with your failure and where did that bring you? Back to me.” He backhanded Thor with his left arm while lifting Natasha high with his right.

Who can say why the Titan hesitated. Crushing a human girl’s throat was hardly more difficult than squashing an ant. If she refused to tell him what she done with the gauntlet he could simply kill her and move on to the next potentially useful member of her little raiding party. Perhaps it was something about the ferocity with which she was fighting his grip, he couldn’t help but be reminded of his favorite daughter. Gamora was the only thing in this whole wretched ungrateful universe he grieved for. Or perhaps, it was the second heartbeat coming from the small warrior’s body. Whatever the reason, that moment of hesitation was enough.

Natasha may have looked like she was kicking helplessly, but in reality, she was prepping the small daggers which could be deployed through the toe of her boots- a new addition to her suit. She allowed her movements to appear frantic as she waited for the opportune angle. Thanos’ grip was tightening and she was losing air quickly. Then he _paused_. It was only a fraction of a second and her position was imperfect. There was at least a 75% chance of failure, but it was now or never. She deployed the dagger in her left boot and with a swinging kick, planted it firmly into the Titan’s eye.

He howled and dropped her. Carol hit him with a photon blast that obliterated his armor leaving an opening for Valkyrie who ran her sword through his chest. He fell to his knees as she wrenched the sword from his flesh. Carol hit him with another blast.

“It’s over. Everything you did, everyone you killed was for nothing. You say our resources are finite, well you had all the power in the universe, you could have created double. Instead you chose to murder half of all life. Men like you are petty and small. You don’t deserve this power. You never did.” Carol nodded at Thor who was standing behind the kneeling titan with Stormbreaker at the ready.

“You once told me I should have gone for the head.” Thor snarled as he decapitated Thanos in one fluid motion. Rocket hopped off of War Machine’s shoulder and kicked the severed skull hard, sending it rolling through the ashes and earning judgmental glares from Carol, Natasha, and Steve, a smirk from Valkyrie, and an amused “Oh, Rabbit” from Thor.

Carol released a photon blast, felling the last remaining beast as a disheveled and panting Bruce limped towards the group. “What happened? Why is everyone standing around? Did we… did we just win?”

“Yeah, Bruce,” Steve exhaled, slapping him on the back, “We won.” 

\--  
_I am still new at getting old_  
_I've paid these dues, I've worn out these bones_  
_Breakin' is easy, hope is hard_  
_Some days are good and some years aren'_ t  
_But some days are good_  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for joining me on this journey! 
> 
> Many thanks to my beta reader, the incomparable [MarvelousKyles](https://marvelouskyles.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The title of this work and the lyrics at the end of this chapter are from [Some Days](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiRHc7X5-o8) by Ira Wolf
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [ here ](https://thirdsisfics.tumblr.com/) if you're so inclined.


	3. You Change Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of our heroes makes an incredible sacrifice. Steve and Natasha make plans for their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be in live edits until 4/24

“I’ll do it.” Nebula didn’t let Carol finish the word “sacrifice” before volunteering. She couldn’t risk one of her nobler companions beating her to the punch. She’d never thought of herself as much of a hero and she wasn’t sure she had the resolve to go through with it if someone else offered first. Carol could bring back everyone destroyed in the Snap, but not the lives Thanos took without using the stones. Resurrecting Gamora, the Asgardians, and those who fell during the Battle of Wakanda required one of them to pay the ultimate price. It would be her. It had to be. 

Natasha was the first to object. “Nebula, no. Your sister wouldn’t-“

“I came here to kill my father and save my sister. I’m not leaving the job unfinished.”

“Come on, Blue. You can’t do this. If you go, who am I gonna get lost in space with?” Tony’s words stopped her in her tracks, a soft expression flitting across her normally inscrutable features. They’d spent weeks drifting in a broken spacecraft together. They were both too cynical to admit it, but they’d developed a deep fondness for each other.

“Try not to get lost.” Nebula was not a hugger. A fighter? Definitely. A painter? Recently, yes. A hugger? Never. Well, almost never. She hesitated a moment, battling with herself, before pulling Tony into an embrace. He swallowed hard and nodded as she pulled away.

“When we were children, my sister won at everything. No way in hell am I letting her best me at martyrdom” A laugh spread through the group. It was a ragged, empty sound. They had come so close. They had won without sacrificing any of there own. Almost. It was the almost that hurt the most. “A life for a life. A daughter of Thanos for a daughter of Thanos. Is the sacrifice acceptable?”

“A frickin’ idiot for a frickin’ idiot” Rocket grumbled kicking the dirt.

“Yes. If you’re sure, yes.” 

Natasha gave Steve a plaintive look, _Tell her we don’t trade lives_. “Nebula,“ He didn’t get past her name before she cut him off.

“The next person who tries to talk me out of saving my sister is getting beaten to death with a rock.” 

Carol grimaced as she raised the gauntlet, “Are you positive you want to do this?”

Nebula nodded. “Hey, Rabbit,” She called over her shoulder, “You’ll tell her. When she asks, you’ll tell Gamora what happened.”  
“I’ll tell her exactly what a dumbass you were.”

“Good.” She smiled. “Let’s do this.”

“I’m so sorry.” Carol’s voice was quiet but resolute. A red light emitted from the soul stone and surrounded Nebula. Her limbs began to lose their pigment and disintegrate. She held Carol’s gaze as she began to fade.

“I’m not.” And suddenly Nebula was ash, indistinguishable from the debris of battle. It was painfully, eerily quiet. 

“Should we go ahead with bringing back the others?” It was Valkyrie who broke the silence with a gentle hand on Carol’s shoulder. Carol shook her head in agreement. 

The rest was simple. _Snap_. An infrastructure was put in place to receive the resuscitated on every planet in the universe. _Snap_. Thanos’ victims were reanimated in the nearest safe location to their place of decimation. _Snap_. The Guardians, Dr. Strange and Peter were brought to Titan II with Gamora and the Asgardians and their respective ships. _Snap_ Groot was transported from Earth to Titan II. 

The moment it was done, Carol ripped the gauntlet off her hand. Controlling that much power made her want to be violently ill. It was too easy. It had cost a life, but still. It was only a matter of time before another Thanos came along. Some of the stones had to be destroyed. She would make that her mission as soon as she returned the Avengers to Earth. The time stone would stay with Strange. The mind stone would go with the Avengers as it belonged to their fallen comrade, Vision. The others would be destroyed or hidden. She’d spend her whole life doing that if she had to. 

She was so lost in thoughts of the stones that she almost missed the reunion happening around her. Korg squeezing his old friend, Meik, a little too tightly. Thor throwing grateful arms around his best friend and brother. Rocket on the verge of tears talking to a sullen teenage tree. The remaining Guardians tackling Gamora. 

“You did it. You actually did it.” 

“So you’re the wizard.”

“Dr. Stephen Strange.”

“Carol Danvers. Want your time stone back?”

“Very much, yes.” She plucked the green stone and handed it Strange who placed it carefully back into his amulet. 

“Hey Mr. Stark” Peter Parker’s excited voice cut straight through cacophony of other joyful greetings.

“You. You’re grounded. No hero-ing. No webslinging. For the next month you are the friendly neighborhood highschool student and that is it.”

“But Mr. Stark I-”

“One more word out of your mouth and it goes up to two months.”

Peter looked as if he’d just watched Tony kick a puppy. He hung his head in acquiescence unsure of what he’d done to warrant such punishment. Had he not been staring dejectedly at his feet he would have seen Tony move to pull him into a hug.

“You scared the shit out of me, kid.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.” 

 

\--  
“Goodbye, sweet Rabbit, I hope we shall meet again one day.” 

“God, I hope not. This is the beginning and end of my hero days, Thunderbolts.” 

“Alright everyone, wheels up in 20” Carol called. After the commotion had died down the logistics had been somewhat painstakingly hashed out. Korg, Meik, and the Asgardians would remain on Titan II for the time being. It was a nearly uninhabited planet and other than the occasional lava beast, an ideal location for New Asgard. Thor would join Carol, Valkyrie, and the remaining Avengers in a trip to Earth. Thor briefly considered leaving his brother in charge while he was away, but quickly came to his senses and left his people in Heimdall’s capable hands instead. After they dropped of the Avengers on Earth, Thor would return to New Asgard while Carol and Valkyrie would begin their mission to destroy and or hide the remaining stones. The Guardians would set off on their own path, where ever it might lead them. 

“You know, I think I’m going to miss Korg the most.” Clint whispered to Natasha. 

“You just love the dad jokes.”

“Don’t knock the dad jokes. It’s my right as someone who is once again a dad to enjoy the dad jokes.” 

She refused to dignify that with a response, but she could feel hope blossoming in her chest. This was real. They were going home. The journey back wouldn’t take nearly as long now that they weren’t stopping for reconnaissance. In a few short days Clint would see his wife and children. She’d walk into the Barton house and see Laura and her niece and nephews. Sam. Wanda. Even Bucky. They did it. They actually got them back. Her gaze fell on the Guardians and that tiny flame of joy was quickly extinguished. 

“Hey, Gamora?” Natasha recognized the emerald skinned warrior from Nebula’s mural on the ship wall. The likeness was uncanny.

“Yes?”

“I’m Natasha,” She extended her hand, “I knew your sister. She was an incredible warrior.”

“You knew Nebula?”  
“She fought alongside us.”

“But She’s not…” Gamora scanned the battlefield frantically. It broke Natasha’s heart to watch the awful realization creep into her eyes. “She’s not here.”

“No.” Natasha dropped her gaze. The silence was brief but thick between them. “Can I show you something?”

She lead Gamora down the brightly painted halls of Carol’s ship. There was no sound but their footsteps echoing thunderously in empty vessel. Natasha stopped when they reached the portrait. A life size painting of Gamora brandishing a sword, wind sweeping her magenta tipped tresses away from her face. The detail was exquisite; the proportions were exact. Natasha had always thought the portrait was stunning, but it wasn’t until she stood in front of its inspiration that she realized how impressive the mural really was.

“She spent weeks on it. I can’t say I knew your sister very well, if any of us did, it would be Tony. But I liked her and I respected her and I thought she might want you to see this.”

Gamora covered her mouth and took a deep steadying breath before asking, “She did something stupid, didn’t she?” Her voice broke on the last word.

“Stupid and brave and selfless. Would you like a moment? I think we still have 15 minutes before takeoff.”

“Yes. And thank you. Thank you for showing me this.”

“Of course.” Natasha gave the woman her most comforting smile and lightly squeezed her hand.  
\--  
“Hey Tony, can I ask you something?” Steve pulled his friend aside as they prepared to board the ship. He’d seen Nat walk off with one of the Gaurdians and this might be his only chance to have this conversation while he could guarantee she wouldn’t overhear. 

“Sure, Spangles, what’s up?”

“How did you convince Pepper agree to marry you?”

“Wowza, just right out of left field with that one, Cap. Not gonna lie, I’m a little offended that you thought I needed to convince Pep to do anything.” 

“Never mind. I’m sorry I asked.”

“Hang on a minute, Capsicle, you’re not thinking about putting a ring on Red’s fingers?”

Steve didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. In that moment, he would have given anything for Natasha’s skill at nonchalance. 

“You actually are. You know, I feel like I’ve spent a decent portion of this little road trip stunned, which is really new territory for me. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Is this growth? You know what, never mind. 

You’re really thinking about proposing to Romanoff? Didn’t you tell me a couple years ago that the guy who wanted family and stability went into the ice in the 40s and someone else came out?”

“Well, I don’t think _stability_ is a risk I’m running.” Tony gave a chuckle in affirmation, “But family, that means something different to me now than it did a couple apocalypses ago. My family is my team, my friends. And home isn’t… some quiet house away from everything. It isn’t New York either. It’s Nat. It’s been Nat for a long time.”

“Look, I’m not an expert on relationships. I’m an expert at avoiding relationships. And what Pep and I have it different from what you and Nat have going on. And, for the record, it sounds like you and Jane Bond have a pretty good thing going. But here’s how it worked for us: I asked during a press conference, which did, to my credit, make me very hard to say no to. But We’d been talking about for a while. We knew it was something we both wanted.”

“Thanks, Tony. Surprisingly, that helps.” 

“When are you going to pop the question?”

“I’m not sure. I’m going to hold off for now, I don’t want her to think I’m only bringing it up because” Steve’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe how close he’s just come to blurting out the news of Natasha’s pregnancy. Natasha had wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible. Other than the two of them, only Thor new about what he had christened “the Tiniest Avenger” and that was only because he had stumbled upon the positive pregnancy test. 

“Is there an end to that sentence coming any time soon?”

He grimaced, “I don’t want her to think I’m bringing it up because of how close we came to dying today.”

“Seems like a sound plan. I’m just going to point out that your track record with women and waiting is not stellar. Also you’re not getting any younger, grandpa.”

“You ever get tired of the old man jokes?”

“Not even a little, Rip Van Winkle.”

 

\--  
After take-off, Natasha headed straight for the med bay. Her wounds were mostly superficial, but Thanos had done a number on her neck and shoulders and come pretty close to crushing her windpipe. She knew it was in her best interest to take something for the swelling and see if could rustle up neck brace. 

When she arrived, Steve was already there wrapping what looked to be a pretty nasty bruised rib. “Hey soldier.”

He practically leapt across the room to her. “You ok? Let me see.” He tugged at the collar of her tack suit where unmistakable bruises were already blossoming on her skin. The sight turned his stomach. He met her eyes and brought his hand gently to her cheek. “Are you in pain?”

“Eh, I’ve had worse.” 

“That’s not what I asked.” 

“I’m fine. It looks bad, but I just need a brace and an anti-inflam, actually wait. I don’t know what I’m allowed to take medicine wise. I guess I’ll just ice before I brace then. And your bandages are coming undone, let me help you.”

“Thanks I ooph” he inhaled sharply as she finished wrapping the bandages around his torso, “got sloppy. It’s been a while since I had to set my own cracked rib.”

She felt along his ribcage and he gave a his when she reached the tender area. “No cracks, Rogers. It’s just a bruise. You’ll be back in fighting form in infuriatingly little time.”

He smiled and got up to find her an ice pack. He cracked it, activating the coolant and returned to his place next to her. She winced as he held it to her sore neck. “Better?”

“Mmmm. Mary me.” Natasha’s eyes flew wide as the weight of what she’d just said landed on her. She’d meant the words as a joke. Only they weren’t. Not to Steve. And, more surprisingly, not to Natasha either. 

“You wanna run that by me one more time? I think I have a concussion.”

“Mary me. I know it’s crazy, and I’m not just suggesting it because you knocked me up. But we’ve been partners for eight years and, after a bit of a rocky start, friends for a significant portion of that time. And while the official ‘got together’ date might still be up for debate, even the most conservative estimate is a pretty decent chunk of time. By any imaginable measure of success we _work_. I’m not an especially romantic person and I know sometimes loving me can… require a very specific set of skills. I’m not promising happily ever after. But I love you. I love you and I want to keep being your partner for the rest of my life and I’m pretty sure that’s what marriage is.”

Steve stood there dumbly holding the ice pack to Natasha’s neck for what felt like an eternity. Then he did something neither of them expected. Steven Grant Rogers laughed. Not a chuckle or a giggle. He guffawed. He laughed so hard he snorted. He laughed so hard his bruised ribs screamed in agony.

“Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for. Let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to my bunk to wait for the sweet embrace of death.”

“No, wait, I’m sorry! It’s just” he struggled to catch his breath, wincing at the pain in his side. “Did you really think you had to pitch me? I told you barely 3 days ago that I’ve known I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, in any way you’d have me, since _Sokovia_. You thought you’d have to convince me with some big speech? Oh god, I can’t wait to tell Sam” He whipped a tear from under his eye and tried to suppress the second wave of laughter bubbling up in his throat. 

“So… that’s a yes?”

“Of course it’s a yes, Romanoff! I was going to ask you when we got back to Earth, but you beat me to it.”

She couldn’t keep herself from grinning. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned up to kiss him gently. Between her neck and his ribs, they had to kiss more delicately than either of them usually preferred to, but the change of pace was also welcome. Soft and sweet. After months of grief, after a blood soaked battle, they relished the moment of gentleness.

“You want to tell the whole ship, don’t you?” She asked as they broke apart. He looked like the cat that ate the canary. She was deluding herself if she thought she could ask Steve Rogers to keep two secrets from some of his closest friends. “Come on then.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the common area.

Steve cleared his throat and all the heads turned on them at once. “Everyone, Natasha and I have an announcement.” 

“Please say you’re getting a puppy, Cap. I’ve filled my bad news quota for two lifetimes” James Rhodes responded. 

“It’s not a puppy, but it’s not bad news either.”

“The suspense is killing us, Spangles.”

He looked down at Natasha who gave him an encouraging shrug. If he said it out loud it was real, there would be no backing out. _Here goes nothing_. “Natasha and I are getting married.”

There were gasps of surprise from some, cheers from others, and tears from Scott Lang. Soon Steve and Natasha found themselves bombarded with hugs and congratulations. 

Thor’s booming baritone cut through the thrum of excited voices, “A wedding and a baby, you and Natasha have been truly fortunate on this journey, Captain Rogers.”

“Oh, big guy, no” Natasha whispered.

The entire room went immediately silent. For a while the only sound that could be heard was the distant rumble of the ship’s engine.

Clint was the first to find his voice. “THOR?! KNEW BEFORE ME?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you correctly guessed that the chapter title is a lyric from the bridge of ["Let's Get Married"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHNbdGu_QvI) by Bleachers, give yourself a big pat on the back!
> 
> Thank you for coming by! This chapter took me a long time to write. I had an earlier version where no one died, but it just didn't feel right. It made all of the deaths before the snap seem empty. I'm still not entirely satisfied with how things turned out, but it is what it is, I suppose. 
> 
>  
> 
> This entire series started when I saw [this](https://thirdsisfics.tumblr.com/post/182860864527/mcusteves-some-days-ira-wolf-and-what-ive) gif set four months ago. It's crazy to think it's almost done. I promise not to kill anyone else in the next work. 
> 
> Series Update: I had originally planned for one more work in the series, but months have gone by and the more I think about it, the more sure I am that the series is done. Thank you for coming with me on this journey. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [ here ](https://thirdsisfics.tumblr.com/) if you're so inclined.


End file.
